i am trying to be diplomatic [laughter] >> michael hastings torpedoed mcchrystal. the pentagon makes the pyridines of old america look like bohemians. budget mcchrystal was not insubordination but frieder nation you should not be buddy buddy with the inferior but he was a soldier's soldier. you touched on briefly is the problem of corruption and governance of all lovell's in the middle east with proper security involving the killers. the fanatic religious killers and revenge killers and the thugs and how you deal with that. it takes one jerk to create havoc and in the middle east and afghanistan are the drugs and how you deal effectively with that. of those play role. unfortunately in the military the fitness report determines who gets promoted sometimes it has less to do with ability but who likes you. >> is there one question there? [laughter] >> i am putting substance to the makings of petraeus. >> those are all good thoughts. i will talk about the rule of law and it is one issue that brigadier-general was responsible for in iraq to galvanize in afghanistan. if

so, in the summer of june, 2010, when general mcchrystal and the landstuhl article will not i remember sitting on the couch and watching the faces flashed across who could potentially replace him and i had friends from centcom saying do you think petraeus will go? no, they will never send him and his picture was flashing up but as we per trey in chapter one of the book we already knew his name was probably in the house even though the media wasn't speculating that the time he had received a call from mcchrystal after the rolling stone article broke and the principal said it was going to be bad, and he was pretty sure that he was certain that he had received some vibes from the white house that he would probably lose his job. admiral mullen called petraeus and said you know your name is not being speculated about publicly but there is a high probability that you will be the one selected from afghanistan. so they read the first chapter and followed everything. he gets into the white house and he is there for a regularly scheduled meeting but someone in the oval office says the president

and tom brokaw is joining us this morning along with general stanley mcchrystal.morning. >> tom, give us a background on what we were watching there. >> i just wanted -- there's a very happy ending to the story that you saw the beginning of last night. i have been following sergeant weaver since before the war began. i met with him in kuwait as they were kicking off and i was with him in baghdad when he was on post. and then when he came home. he was struggling. his family had moved to wisconsin. his wife got a job as a special ed teacher. he couldn't find a job. we did a report on that. a wonderful man in northwest chicago and his wife have an internet marketing business. they called him, drove four hours to wisconsin and said we have a job for you. and charles was really skeptical. and mike said, no, i buy junker cars, and they are recycled and we sell them to auction houses. i need somebody who can work the phones for me and do that from home. it has been a win-win. charles has been on the job now for several months. he is doing extremely well. mike and susan h

matter of fact, mcchrystal himself flamed out. petraeus came back for a second effort at applying counterinsurgency, and achieved only limited success. >> why don't-- >> i don't think anybody today thinks that counterinsurgency is going to pacify afghanistan. >> why didn't it work? >> again, one would refer to afghan history here, that this is simply not a place that accommodates foreign invaders who think they know how to run the place better than the local population. but what i would want to emphasize, i think, is that by last year, i think obama himself had given up on the notion that counterinsurgency provided a basis for u.s. strategy and had, indeed, begun to implement plan c. and plan c is targeted assassination. plan c is relying on drones, unmanned aerial vehicles with missiles, and also commandos, special operation forces, in order to conduct military operations, in essence on a global basis, identifying those who could pose a threat to us. and without regard to congressional authority, without regard to considerations

it's got to appear a little bit less to selfish interest and more to general mcchrystal i wonder why there's a shellfish interested i want to be at stake in the economy has a me true motivation the. problem is the long run more of the same rather than. more better thank you very much for your time. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew . i'm sorry welcome to the big picture. let's. see. the resists are here in our teeth french officers are reportedly detained in the heart of the uprising in syria when the u.k. withdraws its embassy stuff pulled out of in a rising international chorus calling for the rebels to be on. massive protests and rallies across the e.u. about the cuts affect to millions putting a question mark over brussels forceful demands for the stairs. israel faces international criticism over its policy of detainees suspected palestinian militants indefinitely without the chance of a trial. and more of the stories when

general stanley mcchrystal and mr. -- >> general -- >> tom brokaw, thank you both.b fairs this wednesday. we'll be live from one of them aboard the "uss intrepid" here in new york city. to find out how you can attend go to today.com/veterans. and coming up next, famed life coach on how you can overcome life's major obstacles. @ @ s . she can be silly, which embarrasses my sister, but i love it. sometimes she lets us pick out stuff we love, like sunnyd. she likes that it has vitamin c, b1 and 40% less sugar than most regular soda brands. my brother doesn't care about that. he just loves the taste. ♪ make today a sunny day. drink up and download. win 1 to 100 songs. find out more at sunnyd.com >>> back now at 8:46. and with one of the most listened to men in the world, tony robbins has worked with everyone from nelson mandela to bill clinton. he's even walked on fire with oprah. and now he's turning his attention to ordinary people overcoming daunting challenges in his new series called breakthrough with tony robbins on the oprah winfrey network. good morning. >> good

. >> would you awe glgree we have had it right since general mcchrystal have we had the right strategy and resource? >> really not ten year, just will it right the last several years. do you agree with me, dr. miller and general allen, that afghanistan is a center of gravity for the moment in the war on terror? >> i believe it is, sir. >> senator, i do, and given our history there, it's also essential for our credibility in conducting operations elsewhere. >> here's a comment. no one can guarantee success in war or politics. you can do your best. i have great deal of confidence in your plan. i ask my colleagues to listen closely. you've asked good, hard questions, but i have come to conclude that you and your plan represent the last best chance for success in afghanistan. do you both agree with that? >> i concur with that, sir. >> senator graham, this is an essential moment in afghanistan. >> i got you. that's good. >> senator, i want to say that, there will be bumps on the road, and you know that, sir. >> this is the last best chance, no guarantees? >> no guarantees. >> okay. >> here'

private corporation make a priory oh yeah the same thing you had the president fired general stanley mcchrystal right because of things that he said that were then written in a rolling stone article what's different about government from private companies is that you don't really have a choice with government you can vote for some of the people but most of the folks in governing including myself are never voted for more importantly with private companies you can take your business elsewhere if you don't like the way they do business if the people inside the government don't tell you the people about what we're doing you have no way to know if i didn't write a book about the waste and mismanagement in iraq who could tell you that who would tell you that and that places a different obligation on government employees an obligation that president obama in two thousand and eight said. was something that was very important to the federal employee you speak oh it's funny how he's changed his course we'll be able to remember that statement only when he believed that whistleblowers really play a very im

the question is whether or not general mcchrystal was right when he said, without too much encouragementok, this is going to take us at least another decade. and everybody said, well, okay, let's carry on. but we don't have the political will to carry on. the american public is not going to put up with it, i don't think. >> there have been a lot of other incidents of civilian deaths with air strikes or missile strikes. i think there's an acceptance when you do a lot of military activities that there will be a lot of casualties. do we have to accept that when you have people on the ground over eight or nine years and they have weapons that there will be these types of errors or mistakes? >> no, we don't have to accept that. i mean, the law of large numbers, of course, says that the larger the number, the greater the chance there is of something like this happening, but there's no reason to suspect why we have to have this at all. and i go back to what i said earlier. it's the chain of command ultimately is responsible for everything that happens or fails to happen in the unit. when you ha

general stanley mcchrystal and mr. -- >> general -- >> tom brokaw, thank you both.his wednesday. we'll be live from one of them aboard the "uss eintrepid" here in new york city. to find out how you can attend go to today.com/veterans. and coming up next, famed life coach on how you can overcome life's major obstacles. s okay, people, let's get started. pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen! (laughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. this spring, you'll be the bolder, the better. i love when i get to do a morning talk show. as a fashion blogger... i tell people how to look like a million bucks without spending it. i'm always talking about t.j.maxx. everyone looks so fresh for spring... and this is the bohemian vibe. and yes, stripes are back. tj's is a great place to fin

general stanley mcchrystal and mr. -- >> general -- >> tom brokaw, thank you both.his wednesday. we'll be live from one of them aboard the "uss intrepid" here in new york city. to find out how you can attend go to today.com/veterans. and coming up next, famed life coach on how you can overcome life's major obstacles. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. got my bearings. ♪ a little bird told me about a band. ♪ an old man shared some fish stories. ♪ ooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but i still got to see her. we talked for hours. ♪ everyone else buzzed about the band. music, stories, adventures, memories. ♪ ...all at my fingertips. ♪ there's a wireless mind inside all of us. ♪ so, where to next? ♪ >>> back now at 8:46. and with one of the most listened to men in the world, tony robbins has worked with everyone from nelson mandela to bill clinton. he's even walked on fire with oprah. and now he's turning his attention to ordinary people overcoming daunting challenges in his new series called breakthrough with tony robbins on the oprah winfrey network. good mo

. >>> on monday, retired general stanley mcchrystal and tom brokaw will be on "morning joe." >>> andistration has approved guidelines that allow counterterrorism officials to lengthen the period of time they can retain information about u.s. citizens even if they have no known connection to terrorism. the nam counterterrorism center now has five years to hold that information. previously, it had to be destroyed within 180 days. so another victory for the bush-cheney efforts in the obama administration. >> there you go. and in sunday's "parade" magazine, new york's first girlfriend, sandra lee, talks about what it's like having dualing public roles as a celebrity chef and live-in girlfriend of governor andrew comeau. >> all right. with us now, we have the chief white house correspondent for "politico" here with the morning playbook. mike, what are you looking at today? >> well, happy friday. >> yay! >> there you go. >> another sign that the republican establishment is ready to move on, is ready to get onto the main event, the super bowl, with barack obama. the republican national comm

stan mcchrystal didn't get his full array of forces as he requested, and after that last spring, presidentobama et cetera the drawdown in the east remained deprived of the forces originally intended for. so the plan requires us to do some work in the east and then the highway. and then, of course, keep up the afghan army and police. that implies frankly a fair amount of hard work through 2013 and into 2014. i think the president is going to essentially decide the next you must what a state police in that plane. i think at the moment we can't be sure. commanders in the field, ambassadors and still don't get to make these decisions. presidents do, and i think obama at this moment is sorted through how he feels about these questions. >> i must say i'm somewhat surprised at the answer because it seems to me, i extend the president running for reelection has one view how they feel about a conflict they are in. .. >> no, i don't. i think if he has decided to cut forces below 68,000 he does it during baseball's big big election campaign season, there is no putting humpty dumpty back together agai

general mcchrystal and petraeus.hen the president requested 30,000 surge troops, the president granted him 30,000. that was 25% less than was needed. that forced us to do the campaign from two phases. one in the south and now the campaign in the east which we are just beginning. that protracted the war. it evaporates political and moral will at home. so there have been some challenges. one of the things we would have expected the president to do is educate the people about the war. how can overcome the setbacks and what it takes to win. arthel: that's a question a lot of people are asking. they are saying no matter who is the president, is there a case where you can absolutely win this war? >> absolutely. most insurgencies, the kind of war we are fighting here losso lose. it's the government that usually wins and the people get fed up with the war itself. we are winning this war on the ground since the president made the decision to provide the resources, the momentum is in our favor. we are in the process of turning

stan mcchrystal didn't get his full array of forces in the fall of 2009, and after that last spring president obama accelerated the drawdown meaning that the east remained deprived of the forces originally intended for it. so the campaign plan requires us to do some work in the east, and then the highway from kabul to kandahar and, of course, keep building up the afghan army and police. and that implies, frankly, a fair amount of hard work through 2013 and into 2014. and i think the president's going to decide in the next few months whether he still believes in that campaign plan. obviously, commanders in the field, ambassadors in the field don't get to make these decisions, presidents do, and i think obama's at this moment sorting through how he feels about these questions. >> i must say i'm somewhat surprised at that answer because it seems to me i understand presidents running for re-election have one view about how they feel about a conflict they're in, then they get to be president for another term, and if they've made a certain kind of decision that was unsuccessful it may mean in theor

the first came from mcchrystal and petraeus.ge force that was going to support the decision the president made to execute what is commonly referred to as a counter insurgency strategy. that recommendation was a minimal force of -- force of 40,000. the president provided 35% less. that has protracted the war and run up the kansas use and contributed to an evaporation of support from the american people for if the war. the second recommendation in 2012, general petraeus made a recommendation on the size of the reduction of the surge force by 2012. he made a modest recommendation in terms of force sides reduction. the president's decision was to remove all of the surge forces or 33,000 by the end of 2012. and that is ongoing right now. and puts the mission in the east at risk and also increases the overall success in afghanistan. the third decision came from a recommendation made by general alston who is the commander -- was the commander in iraq in 2012. his recommendation was 26,000 forces to stay as a residual force, not involve

time to complete that mission under the guidance of what at the time general petraeus and general mcchrystalnited states laid out. senator mccain is whetted to be bad failed policy. if president karzai doesn't have the political credibility to allow us to stay in the villages, this -- our mission in afghanistan is simple. we're supporting the democratically elected government and their ability to gain control of the countryside in the areas where the insurgents work to broker to leverage response. this cannot happen if president karzai doesn't support us. basically the president has to adjust our mission. >> this is very interesting. president obama was asked about the conditions in afghanistan with british prime minister david cameron. this is what he had to say about it. >> the general afghan question, why do you think it is that people feel that you talk a good game but they don't buy it? >> it's because we've been there for ten years and people get weary. and they know friends and neighbors who have lost loved ones as a consequence of war. no one wants war. >> no one wants war and we are

. >> would you agree with me read really have not had it right over 10 years, releases general mcchrystale we have the right strategy with the right resources? >> i believe we have the right strategy now and the right resources? >> cell it is really not 10 years, unfortunately. just the last several years. do you agree with me that afghanistan is the center of gravity for the moment in the war on terror? >> i believe it is, sir. >> given our history there, it is also essential for our credibility in conducting operations elsewhere. >> here is a comment -- no one can guarantee success in war or politics. you can do your best. i have a great deal of confidence in your plan. i ask my colleagues to listen closely. you have as good, hard questions, but i have come to conclude that you and your plan represent the last, best chance for success in afghanistan. do you both agree with that? >> i concur with that, sir. >> senator, this is an essential moment in afghanistan. i want to say the there will be bumps on the road, and you know that. >> this is our last best chance. no guarantees. >> i unde

i had faith and administrative -- administrator mcchrystal. he promised reform. i do not see that happening, unfortunately. that is the highlight, mr. chairman. it's important that we get to the bottom of this. there is a lot of hard-earned tax money going to theaters security, and not real security. we have to stop paying that price before we pay a huge price of a successful attack. >> i will not recognize myself for five minutes. i have the advantage of knowing your bio. i spent nearly three decades in security. the one thing i know about security is there are two types. there is the type that convinces people that your target is harder than somebody's else's. i cannot protect all cars. that is what i would say you have is a system your today. you have a series of hardening spread the word sometimes, and i am speaking about the aviation. these programs certainly seem to be good programs. in every case, as the wind blows, those spots will stop targets. targets are exactly like you would expect. they are mobile, responsive. if we do not have a layer of security s

. >> we really have not had it right over 10-years since general mcchrystal have we had the right strategy. >> i believe we have the right strategy now. >> we does have a right for the last several years. do you agree with me that afghanistan is a center for this at the moment? >> i believe it is. >> given our history, it is essential for our credibility elsewhere. >> here is a comment. no one can guarantee success in war or politics. you can do it at your best. i have confidence in the plan. they have good hard questions. i've come to conclude that you and your plan represents the last best chance for success in afghanistan. do you agree? >> i concur. >> this is an essential moment in afghanistan. i want to say that there will be this on the road. you know that. >> this is the last best chance, and no guarantees. >> here is my comment to my colleagues. i understand it is difficult back home. i believe that this is the last best chance. the only way we will fail as for our political system. they can understand the plan to make sure they have the resources. i can promise the president and t